I am running a Lotus Evora S for the next four days. This one is in Aspen White with Design Wheels and costs £62,450.
The photos are poor purely due to the appallingly misty weather - and the fact I didn't have a decent chance to take many before darkness arrived. I'll be sure to get some good photos this weekend.
The Evora S is Lotus' top spec car. It could almost be described as a GT, but not quite. It's too hardcore for that.
The cockpit is rather snug, and trimmed in gorgeous Alcantara and leather, with aluminium bits and pieces. If you want exposed metal buy an Exige. If you want at least the appearance of comfort buy an Evora.
You get gizmos in the Evora that you wouldn't expect in a Lotus. Parking sensors, touchscreen with bluetooth iPhone synchronisation, parking sensors, heated seats, cruise control.
The sculpted sports seats don't look like they should be comfortable, but they are. The rear seats are tiny and are best used for throwing bags on rather than housing humans.
The pedals are narrow and close together, the manual, 6-speed gearbox feels firm and positive, the steering is lighter than in the Exige S I tested. The Exige doesn't have power steering but the Evora does.
So far I've described a car that's pretty luxurious - a grand tourer. But it isn't really. It's a sports car with some posh bits and pieces. The interior is small and the car is low. You have to lean down and thread yourself in and over the wide sill (the stiffest, aluminium chassis in the business is pretty chunky) to get in the car. If you're over 6 foot and put on a few lbs over Christmas you might struggle to get in it on Boxing Day.
The driving experience is sublime. The supercharged 3.5 V6 sounds fruitily awesome. Press the Sport button and it gets even better.
Throttle control is more responsive in Sport too. The clutch is heavy (although The Man From Lotus said it had been thrashed quite a lot and might need a new clutch soonish).
The ride and handling are beyond sublime. No other manufacturer offers such a delicate balance of comfort, ride quality, handling and steering feedback.
I'll put some miles on the Lotus Evora S and report back after the weekend.
Stats
3.5 litre V6 supercharged engine, 6-speed manual gearbox, 345bhp, 0-60mph in 4.4 seconds, 1437kg, top speed 178 mph, £62,450
By Matt Hubbard